A measure of familiarity
by gemini-starlight
Summary: [DiNozzoGibbs] Coming back from a vacation, Tony is presented with a change in the behaviour of his boss. What is the cause of it? It's up to Tony to put his investigation skills to good use, to find out what happened to his lover. [Oneshot]


**A/N:** Hey, folks! That's a little (well, as 'little' as I can make it) fanfic about NCIS. I hope you like it and write me some reviews – they would be greatly appreciated!

Disclaimer: Neither "Navy CSI" nor the characters showing up in this ficlet are mine. Sad as it is, I only borrowed them to get this annoying plotbunny out of my head to be able to continue with my other stories. But after I saw "Chained", the mentioned plotbunny wouldn't leave, scaring my muses out of my well-heated flat into the cold outside. To rescue them from freezing to death – and as a result of that me being absolutely without any inspiration – I wrote this fanfic.

P.S. Being German, English is not my native language, so please be kind when you see grammar mistakes or similar faults, ok?

Warning: mild slash (DiNozzo/Gibbs), romance, fluff / Spoilers to "Chained"

**_The measure of familiarity_**

It was shortly after lunch on a quiet Friday, when Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo sauntered into headquaters of NCIS, smiling brightly at his colleagues. Kate felt a familiar presence nearing her desk and looked up, not resisting the smile which bloomed on her face in response to the one she was receiving. Tony could annoy the hell out of her with his smug grins, but when he smiled like he did right know, she couldn't help but feel better – despite who torturous the day may have been.

And the last week had been everything short of hell. First Gibbs had been grumpy about who knew what, then case after case had popped up over mere three days, which hadn't improved the moods. Even McGee had once snapped at her, Kate remembered with an inward sigh, which spoke volumes about the mounting stress level during the last days. And without Tony and his irreverent humor, which could lighten up even Gibbs in his most dangerous moods these last days had been quite horrendous.

But Kate knew that Tony had needed the vacation even more than anybody else. After the episode with Jefferey White, her fellow agent hadn't been his usually cheerful, optimistic self, even if he didn't say anything about it. But it seemed that the invitation of his beloved cousin, who had given birth to her second child, had been a blessing for Tony's unbalanced feelings after his undercover job. Spending time with his big family and visiting his home in Italy had given him back his usual exuberant sparkle and the palpable aura of strength and warmth, Kate knew she more then often relied on during times of pressure.

Shoving her musings back into the deep recesses of her mind, Kate smiled more warmly at her colleague and friend, who in return leaned against her desk and dangled a big carry-case in front of her. Receiving a raised eyebrow in silent question, Tony grinned amusedly at her and said: "Hey, Katie, did you miss me?"

"Should I?", Kate replied with a careful show of annoyance at the nickname. "And don't call me Katie, Tony. You know I hate that." Tony seemed to consider her words, but then smiled impishly. "But if you aren't Katie, then I can't give you something from what I have in here. You know, I got special orders whom to gift with pieces of the heavenly creation inside this carry-case."

Kate blinked and frowned. But seeing Tony's sparkling green eyes and remembering where he came from, her own brown ones lit up in delight. "Oh, don't tell me you have some of that delicious cake in there, like the one your aunt sent you for your last birthday party!" Kate could feel her mouth watering at the mere thought of that cake. A chocolate cake made in heaven. With hundreds of calories, which made eating even a small slice pure sin – but Kate would murder for another piece of it. And from the look on McGee's face, who had come to stand next to Tony during their talk and now regarded the carry-case in the older agent's hand with hungry eyes, she wouldn't be the only one.

Tony grinned and said: "Ok, Kate, I won't tell you."

"Tony!", came the doubled call from Kate and McGee.

The brown-haired young man laughed full of amusement at seeing the glares he was receiving. Then he relented and carefully placed the carry-case on Kate's desk before opening it with a flourish. Sighs of delight escaped his two friends at the sight of the double-chocolate cake, which severely tempted their conscience.

_Meanwhile in another room not far away:_

"What is Agent DiNozzo doing here? I thought he wasn't scheduled back until next Monday?", a startled voice could be heard asking. Another voice, deeper and definitely unsurprised, answered: "That's right. DiNozzo seems to have ended his vacation a bit sooner. Anything wrong with that?"

"It wasn't planned to include him in this testing, you know that!", the first voice replied slightly angrily.

A silver eyebrow was raised. "Afraid he will mess up your plan, Tobias?"

A growl, then a sigh could be heard, before the first voice said: "As if. Agent DiNozzo won't realize that anything is amiss. I was just a bit surprised that he comes here if he normally wouldn't _have_ to. DiNozzo doesn't seem to be the type for a workaholic."

"Looks can be deceiving." A devious smile crossed the handsome face of the second speaker and he told the other man: "DiNozzo will look through your little masquerade. Just wait and see."

'Tobias' scoffed disbelievingly. "What makes you so sure that _he_ of all people will realize it?", he wanted to know.  
"Because I know him. He is a damn good investigator – otherwise he wouldn't be one of my people", was the calm answer, filled with deep conviction.

"I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes. Let's place a bet." 'Tobias' challenge gained him another raised eyebrow, but the silver-haired speaker agreed. They clasped hands and then turned once more to the cameras to watch over the happenings.

_Back in the bullpen at NCIS headquaters:_

The sound of brisk steps coming nearer snapped Kate and her male colleagues out of their chocolate-induced dreams and Tony turned around to favour the approaching man with a warm smile. "Hey, Boss. I hope you have some place left in your coffee-filled stomach for one piece of Aunt Sophia's chocolate cake."

Gibbs lessened his fast pace for a moment to stand with his teammates. Tony wasn't sure what to expect from the silver-haired agent, but the dismissing wave of Gibbs' hand and the short: "Later, DiNozzo" after a fleeting glance at the heavenly creation sitting on Kate's desk definitely wasn't one of the options he had considered. Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs wasn't a man of many addictions – aside from the obvious : coffee – but Tony simply _knew_ that the older man had loved his aunt's cake at Tony's last party. Therefore he was a bit startled by the reaction, but dismissed it for stress – if Gibbs was stressed everything he needed to function was coffee.

"Hard week?", Tony asked sympathetically. Gibbs' only answer was a low growl, then he turned and went to his own desk, where he dropped the thick folder he had been carrying and started to read in it without further comment.

Tony looked after him, narrowing his green eyes in thought. Inwardly surprised and concerned at Gibbs' short and dismissive behaviour towards him after his two-week-absence, the young agent turned a questioning look at Kate and McGee for further explanations. But Kate only rolled her eyes and made a 'You-know-how-he-get's-sometimes'-gesture. Tony couldn't disagree with her reaction and therefore settled on Kate's desk to question her about the days of his absence and to tell her a bit about his new 'niece'.

Soon animated talking and bickering could be heard from between the three young agents, meanwhile Kate and McGee fought about every little crumb of their pieces of chocolate cake. Tony was alternating between laughter at their antics in regard to his aunt's cake and being symphatetic at hearing their stories about the cases which had popped up during his vacation. Ligthening them up had been the main reason why he had come to headquaters on one of the last remaining days of his vacation.

Meanwhile he had been sneaking glances at Gibbs, who seemed totally engrossed in the content of his folder. Tony couldn't really put his finger on what disturbed him about the behaviour of the older man, but something was nagging at him. An uneasy feeling settling in his stomach, Tony decided to spend some more time with his colleagues, even if he had only planned on giving them the cake during a short 'hello'. But now he knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else for the whole day before he solved the puzzle presented at him in the persona of his ever-mysterious boss.

Another half hour later most of the news had been passed between Kate, McGee and him. Therefore Tony brought the rest of the cake to the breakfast-room into the fridge. He had seen that Gibbs hadn't so much as touched his piece of cake and it made him even more suspicious that something was wrong with the older man.

Tony's concern mounted over the next hours when more and more bits and pieces were presented to his trained eyes that stabilized his theory of something severely amiss. Gibbs hadn't reacted to him staying, only grumbled something to himself before getting once more absorbed in his work. That was strange in itself – normally the silver-haired man would have thrown some sarcastic remarks about Tony's unusual willingness to stay longer than necessary on one of his last free days for a long while.

Piecing the little bits of information together which his sharp eyes and trained investigation instincts showed him, Tony finally came to a conclusion. A conclusion which made him severely unhappy.

_Once more in the other room:_

"It seems as if DiNozzo is not as good as you thought", 'Tobias' remarked smugly, when the hours went by and Tony didn't appear to have realized something wrong. "He is as clueless as the rest of your team."

"You wish", the second man answered, deep blue eyes trained on the pictures the cameras were showing them from the bullpen. "Your comment only shows how well-trained he is at hiding his suspecion." A disbelieving snort answered this sentence, but the speaker continued without pause: "Tony knows something, I can see it in his behaviour. Normally he would have left after delivering the cake – which by the way I hope for your man he will not eat, because that piece is _mine_ – but something must have set off his inner alarm, because he stayed. If you watch him closely, you can almost see him collecting information. Now it won't be long until he takes action."

As if to reward the trust in the words spoken the Tony on the screen suddenly tensed in his seat, then reached into his drawer before standing up and walking towards the desk behind which Gibbs now was working at his computer. Both men in the room leaned forwards in anticipation, narrowing their eyes at the screen to see what Tony would do. When they realized Tony's intention, 'Tobias' told the other man reluctantly: "You may be right after all. But I hope he won't take drastic measures – that could be quite unfortunate for my Agent."  
Curiousity entered grey eyes. "How did you know _he_ would figure it out so fast? Your other teammates didn't."

A satisfied smile on his lips the silver-haired man on his side answered: "It's a matter of familiarity. As familiar I am with the behaviour of my team, as versed Tony is with mine and the others. He is trained to see even slight mistakes and intelligent enough to make an educated guess about what may be the cause of it. For the health of your man down there I hope he won't aggravate Tony to really drastic measures…DiNozzo can be quite forceful if he thinks persons he considers friends or colleagues in danger", he added while pointing at what Tony was holding in his hand when he came to a stop in front of Gibbs' desk. His gun.

_Back again in the bullpen:_

Standing at Gibbs' desk, Tony regarded his seemingly deeply engrossed superior for a moment, before saying quietly: "I know". The serious inflection in his voice caught his superior's attention, but nonetheless Gibbs didn't move his eyes away from the sheet of paper he was reading at the moment. Instead he replied with an ounce of annoyance in his voice at being disturbed: "Know what?"

"That you are just _dying_", the word was emphasized by the click of a gun safety removed, which caused not only Kate's and McGee's heads to shot up and turn to Tony, "to tell me who the hell you are."

Gibbs looked up more slowly and didn't show any fear despite seeing a gun leveled threateningly at a point between his eyes. "I thought your memory would last for more than two weeks, DiNozzo", he answered coolly, which gained him a raised eyebrow and narrowed look of intense green eyes.

"But it seems that's not the case", the older man continued and leaned back in his seat while regarding his subordinate with an overly patient look. "Last time I checked, DiNozzo", he said calmly, "I was Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs from NCIS."  
Narrowing his eyes at the young agent in front of him, he added with more than a touch of biting sarcasm: "And your superior, if I recall correctly. Therefore I would strongly suggest you lower your weapon right this moment or I'll have to take measures against you. And I am not speaking of a simple reprimand, Agent." The last words rang threateningly through the bullpen and caused several people, who had watched the scene to wince. Gibbs' wrath was not a pretty thing.

But Tony's gun remained trained at the man in front of him. With a smirk the brown-haired man said: "Not bad, really not bad at all, Mister. But you can't dream to compare to Gibbs in the matter of threatening. So, I repeat my question: _Who are you?_ And please refrain from lying this time." When Tony finished his speech he wasn't smiling anymore and his voice was lacking his usual warmth. Instead it had a hard and dangerous inflection in it, mirrored in his eyes, which now resembled green-coloured steel.

'Gibbs' seemed to remain unfazed by this change in the younger agent, but if you looked closely enough you could detect a thread of fear entering his blue eyes. He didn't miss the aura of danger around Tony - couldn't really, because it caused a distinct chill in the atmosphere.

By this moment Kate and McGee had moved to stand near Tony, their own guns in hands, but not leveled at anybody. Their eyes darted between their colleague and the man they had believed to be their superior. But now doubt had entered their eyes, because if they knew anything at all about Tony, then it was to trust his instincts. The young agent had the uncanny ability to simply sense it if something was wrong around him - and he knew Gibbs the longest from the three of them. If Tony thought that something about the man in front of them was so out of the usual that he dared to draw his gun at him and accuse him of being an imposter – then Kate and McGee would trust him enough to analyze what had Tony set off.

Kate unconsciously moved to Tony's left side - to protect and help him if need be. Holding her weapon halfway up to double Tony's action, she turned her head to her fellow agent and asked: "Tony, what are you doing? This is Gibbs – isn't he?", she ended, threads of doubt colouring her words.

Tony's head snapped around to her, honest curiousity in his green eyes. "Don't tell me, you really didn't know that _he_ is _not_ Gibbs!", he exclaimed in surprise, pointing with his gun at the older man in front of them, who now regarded them with blank expression. But his blue eyes showed confusion, slight fear and deep curiousity.

Kate blinked at hearing Tony's words, then frowned deeply. Her brown eyes centered on 'Gibbs' and appraised him thoroughly. Hesitantly she began answering her fellow agent: "I don't really know, Tony. Sure, sometimes I thought there was something", she waved her hand in a helpless gesture, "weird about his behaviour during the last days. But you know how he gets when there is a case which doesn't go the way he wants it to." McGee winced visibly, while Tony merely grinned but nodded his head. "Boy, do I ever", he agreed with empathy. McGee's low-voiced, but fervent: "Oh, yeah" gained him one deeply annoyed and two understanding looks.

"Agent DiNozzo", 'Gibbs' said with forced calmness. "I don't know why you seem so intend on questioning my identity – but because at the moment you are the insane one with the gun I will let you explain yourself. But don't expect me to be overly understanding of your action – there _will _be repercussions, of that I can assure you." Kate paled slightly at this threat, McGee took a step backwards – and Tony smiled in amusement.

"Like I already told you before, buddy", the young agent said wholly unimpressed, "you are not bad. But not nearly good enough to convince me that you are Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs – even on one of his strange-behaving days. Trust me, I have seen almost every side of Gibbs' behaviour during the nearly three years I now work for him. He would fire me if I wouldn't recognize an imposter of him if I see one – even a really good one like you."

Leaning on his superior's desk Tony continued, his green eyes appraising the older man in front of him like Kate had done before. "But to do as you asked me, buddy", Tony continued his speech, "I will explain what made me realize you can't be Gibbs."  
Holding up his left hand, Tony counted: "First, there weren't any sarcastic remarks about me being here during one of my last free days for a long, long while. I would have chalked that up to Gibbs being stressed by the cases Kate and Probie told me about, but the last case you handled during my absence was closed up yesterday.  
Second, you didn't realize me watching you over the last hours – something Gibbs would _never_ have missed. It annoys him greatly if somebody watches him work. Third, while watching you engrossed in your work, I saw you writing a short note with your right hand – Gibbs is left-handed, even if he has trained himself to be equally good doing things right-handed. When absent-minded like making a short notice during reading, he reverts to writing with his left hand."

Kate's eyes widened during Tony's list and she whispered: "Oh, now I understand what nagged me about his behaviour...what seemed so weird over the last days. He was so quiet during work, no yells for something that had to be done yesterday. Even with Abby absent and the morgue closed because of Ducky's illness", Tony shot her a concerned look at hearing about her ME's illness, "there should have been more sarcasm than normal. But instead he became...quieter."

When 'Gibbs' made a move to interfere, Tony tsksed loudly and nodded at his weapon still pointing at the older man. "Kate's right. When stressed Gibbs' use of sarcasm gains new heights", he said with a slight wince at remembering a particular stressing case not too long ago. After only half a day at working on this case, nobody but Tony and the rest of the team had even dared to come near the silver-haired agent. Even weeks after it most of the other inhabitants of the building had given Gibbs a wide berth.

"But I wasn't finished with my list of differences to 'normal Gibbs-behaviour'." Holding his left hand up once more with now four fingers showing, Tony continued: "Fourth and coming to the more distinct points: when you used the computer you seemed astonishingly comfortable with it. Gibbs hates everything more technically advanced… like computers. He only uses them if he absolutely has to. It's not as if he doesn't know how to handle a computer… he just doesn't like it enough to use them so nonchalantely like you did.  
Combined to point four is my point five of investigation: you didn't squint at the small writing. Neither when reading the contents of that folder", Tony pointed at the thick folder laying open on Gibbs' desk, "nor when working on the computer. Whether the Boss likes it or not, he hasn't the eyes of an eagle anymore."

The blue eyes in front of him narrowed dangerously at that comment and glared hotly at Tony, who cocked his head in reply and shook his head. "I already told you, it won't work. The 'Gibbs-deathglare' is a patented thing and can't be copied. Also I didn't tell you the most serious mistake you made while playing Gibbs."

"Which would be?", growled the silver-haired man in front of him, while Kate narrowed her eyes in thought and McGee looked curiously at Tony. The younger man was impressed at the list of evidence Tony had listed, each and everyone of them giving the theory of the brown-haired agent more stability. It showed how good Tony was at registering even the small, seemingly uninteresting things – like the hand Gibbs favoured in writing. McGee hadn't know that his superior was originally left-handed. He told himself with an inward sigh, that he had still much to learn.

Tony grinned at Kate's frowning, but refrained from teasing her in favour of telling his audience the coup de grace of his observations. "Yeah, your most severe fault", he nodded at the man he was still facing. "It was so obvious, that Kate and Probie should have noticed it right away."

Kate scowled: "Tell us already, Tony." She knew that there was something glaringly obvious amiss about Gibbs, which had troubled her during the last days. But she couldn't get a grip on _what_ exactly it was. Tony seemed to know and it annoyed her to no end, that her fellow agent had realized something in mere hours, that had evaded her more than a week.

"What loves the Boss more than scaring a suspect? Something he simply can't live without?", Tony asked with a mischievous grin. The grin bloomed into a smug smile, when he saw realisation dawn first on Kate's than on McGee's face after some seconds of thinking. Both agents suddely leveled their guns at the man they now knew could never ever be Gibbs.

"Could somebody tell me what the hell you mean?", their 'victim' asked in obvious bewilderment at being the sudden center of not only one, but three gunpoints. Instead of an answer, Tony questioned him: "How much coffee did you drink today, buddy?" Curious blinking was the only answer.

"I will tell you how much cups I counted since the time I arrived", Tony continued. "I don't know how much you drank in the morning, but I would bet it wasn't more than two cups. Which would give you the absolutely unbelievable number of not more than three cups of coffee for almost a whole day. Gibbs wouldn't have survived with such a low intake of his beloved beverage – he normally ingests three cups of coffee during the morning. And…even if the earth-shaking situation would arise that the Boss cuts down his coffee-intake, he wouldn't remain without effects of withholding his addiction. The whole building would be cowering in fear, if Gibbs had to exist without at least a cup of coffee every second hour."

Taking a deep breath after finishing his list of evidences, Tony said: "You see, buddy, you are definitely not our boss. Therefore I will give you one more chance to tell my colleagues and me who you are, what you are doing in Gibbs' place – and most important of all questions: where the hell is the real Gibbs?"

Not only Tony's eyes showed steely determination to hear the whole truth now, but for the silver-haired man sitting in front of them the young Italian posed the most important threat to his health. But before he could even consider an answer to their questions, a new voice sounded through the bullpen. "DiNozzo! Kate, McGee! Lower your weapons right now!"

The three agents reacted immediately and in perfect synchronisation. McGee's gun remained trained on their Gibbs-double, while Kate and Tony whirled around to point theirs at the new speaker. They had recognized the voice, but wanted to be sure. Kate dropped down to one knee to give Tony the possibility to fire if needed – instinctly both of them acted as a team.

But only five seconds later Tony lowered his gun and lightly tapped Kate on the shoulder to give her a sign that everything was alright. His friend and colleague didn't hesitate, trusting Tony's instincts, even if she was slightly bewildered at the two persons in front of her. 'Gibbs' breathed an obvious sigh of relief seeing the newcomers and McGee followed Tony's and Kate's example in lowering his gun, looking curiously back and forth between one of the two men coming nearer and 'Gibbs'.

Tony instead had relaxed completely and now grinned cheerfully. "Hey, Boss. Long time no see."

Gibbs only glared at his subordinate in reply and Agent Fornell, who was walking at his side shook his head in wonder. At the receiving end of the legendary Gibbs-glare, Tony's grin morphed into a satisfied smile and he turned to 'Gibbs', saying: "See, what I meant?" Pointing at Gibbs, Tony continued: "That's what I call a glare. A real and deadly Gibbs-glare."  
The double looked at Gibbs and blanched slightly, causing Tony to grin even more. Kate and McGee moved back a bit, when their real Boss reached them and swatted Tony lightly on the head for his comment. But Gibbs' blue eyes held an almost undistinguishible sparkle of laughter and warmth at seeing the younger man, who smiled impishly at receiving the normal treatment after one of his jokes.

"Care to tell us, what this whole masquerade was about?", Kate wanted to know, giving Fornell a suspicious look. McGee backed her up and Tony leveled a glare of his own at the FBI agent. He felt that Gibbs was not happy about the whole situation, but seemed to have been tricked into agreeing to it. Whatever _it _was.

"Yeah", he agreed and added, pointing at 'Gibbs': "I never knew you had a twin, Boss."

"DiNozzo", Gibbs growled lightly, shaking his head. "That's FBI-Agent Matthews, a pretender. He was ordered to play me to find out how easy it would be for terrorists or other aggressive groups to gain entrance to our building by kidnapping and replacing a member of NCIS by a double. Agent Fornell thought it best", Gibbs added with biting sarcasm, which made Fornell wince slightly, "to test the theory with our team – me especially. I don't have to tell you I wasn't happy about it – but in the name of co-operation between our departments I agreed. I am sure that Tobias will be more than happy to return the gesture in kind some time in the future."

A devious sparkle lightened Gibbs' tired blue eyes, when he looked at Agent Fornell after his last sentence. The heavy glares, which Tony, Kate and even McGee had first leveled at him when hearing of the cause of the whole rucus, changed to obvious amusement at the FBI-Agent's unease at Gibbs' speech. A reluctant nod was Fornell's only answer, but it caused an easing of the tension in everybody.

Feeling his former uneasiness vanishing after the explanation about the situation and seeing the real Gibbs alive and unharmed, Tony decided to leave. After an easy smile to everybody present – sans Fornell, who got a raised eyebrow for the whole act – Tony retrieved the rest of his aunt's chocolate cake and went home.

Hours later - Tony was busy cooking in his kitchen - he heard the front door to his apartment clapping. Smiling to himself he stirred the deliciously smelling pasta once more before leaving the kitchen to greet his visitor. Entering the hall he came to see Gibbs, who seemd uncharacteristically tired and worn out, did you count the slow movements he took to hang up his jacket and slip out of his boots. Turning around the silver-haired man saw warm, curious green eyes concentrating on him and smiled in greeting.  
"Hey", he simply said to the lithe, but muscled figure leaning casually in the doorframe.

"Hey", Tony echoed, then cocked his head to the side and asked with an impish sparkle in his eyes: "Are you the real Gibbs?" Gibbs nodded while advancing on the younger man. "You sure?", Tony pressed with a smile. In the meantime Gibbs had reached Tony and nodded once more.

"Then prove it", Tony whispered.

As if he had waited for this command, Gibbs closed the last inches of distance between their bodies and curled his arms securely around Tony's waist. Turning his head up the silver-haired man pressed his lips against his partner's in a slow, sweet kiss, which took their breath away. Reciproking Gibbs' gesture in kind, Tony raised his arms to press his lover close to himself and savored the feeling of rising heat, but also safety. In Gibbs' arms Tony felt complete.

Angling his head a bit to the side he deepened their kiss and felt Gibbs return the passion he expressed. Tony slid his hand through surprisingly soft hair and heard the low moan which escaped his lover when he began to gently play with the silver strands. The younger man took advantage of the slight sound and gained entrance to Gibbs' mouth, which he thoroughly but leisurely explored with his tongue.

Another moan escaped him at being so lovingly conquered and explored, but Gibbs retaliated by slipping his hands under the vest Tony was wearing because of the warm summer night. Returning the still slow and sensous kiss, which shook him down to his core and made him realize once more how deeply he loved Tony, Gibbs let his hands gently glide up and down his partner's smooth skin in lazy circles. A shiver wracked the lithe frame in his arms and Gibbs smiled inwardly at the instant reaction he caused in his lover.

Only the pressing matter of oxygen-deprivation ended the kiss between the two men. Tony leaned his forehead against Gibbs' and smiled beautifully at his love. "I missed you", he confessed quietly. Gibbs' embrace tightened and he whispered equally quietly: "I missed you, too. This two weeks were hard for me, Tony."

Hearing the weariness in Gibbs' words and knowing how seldom his lover made confessions like this, Tony wrapped his own arms tighter around the older man and hugged him, enscoring Gibbs in his warmth and love. He simply held the silver-haired man for uncounted minutes, leaning against the doorframe and letting Gibbs rest against his own body. It was evidence of how much Gibbs trusted Tony, that he allowed himself to be held and guarded, feeling content and secure in the younger man's embrace. Loved.

They were familiar with each other's needs and desires – they didn't need much words to understand the other. Tony knew Gibbs just needed to be held for a minute, while the older man accepted the fact that in Tony's company he didn't always had to be strong. He could relax and give control over for a while, because he trusted his lover to not use his moments of weakness against him. Gibbs knew the younger man would shelter him, help him regain his strength for the next day – the next problem, the next case.

In daily life nobody would think that even Gibbs needed relief from the burden of being Senior Special Agent of NCIS. That he needed somebody who would simply hold him close, give him warmth and love. Contentment. Strength, simply by always being there for him. Sometimes with an infectious laugh and an irresistable love for life, but on other days with strong arms around him in silent contemplation after seeing the results of hate and terror. Gibbs had realized that one look from Tony's beautiful green eyes and a quirk of full, sensous lips could wrap him in a blanket of safety and love - even at a horrendous crime scene. People often wondered, how he was able to stay sane with everything he saw through his work at NCIS – they believed that he had simply gained familiarity with murder and death. Even if that was right to a certain extent, his soul remained untainted because of Tony. Because Tony was his soul – a soul so warm and pure like his lover's green eyes and brillant and beautiful like his smile.

Tightening his embrace for a second until it almost hurt, Gibbs showed Tony how much he needed him in his nonverbal way of confessing his feelings. And Tony understodd. He had already felt the tenseness and weariness in his lover back at NCIS headquaters, had seen it in the blue eyes even if the older agent was very good at hiding his emotions at work. But Tony knew how to read the little signs – and he had taken steps to lessen the stress his love was experiencing because of the stress the last week had caused. He had three whole days to accomplish his goal – three days Tony planned to use to the fullest. Gently carding his fingers through silver hair in a soothing manner, Tony then lifted Gibbs' head up to him to kiss the older man with all the love he felt for him inside. It was a silent promise to help, to be there.

Breaking the kiss reluctantly Tony smiled at Gibbs, then tugged the older man with him towards the kitchen. The delicious smell caused an instant reaction and the vicious growl of a hungry stomach shattered the silence. Tony laughed in amusement, then filled Gibbs' plate with a generous helping of pasta. The older man raised a silver eyebrow at the amount of food, but Tony's mock-stern look let him surrender to the inevitable. Gibbs knew he wouldn't be able to leave until he had eaten – sometimes he felt treated like a child when a situation like this arose between his lover and him, but considering his eating habits when he was stressed or absent-minded, it was a good thing that Tony looked after him in this department. And the younger agent was a fantastic cook; an ability people normally wouldn't believe Tony to have. But with his Italien ancestry it shouldn't be a wonder, the older agent reasoned.

Their meal was shared in companionable silence. Tony watched with eagle eyes until Gibbs had eaten the last crumbs of his pasta, then presented his lover with a big slice of chocolate cake. Tony saw Gibbs' dark blue eyes lighten up in silent delight, even if the older agent protested that he couldn't eat anymore. Nagging him a bit, the young Italian managed to convince his lover to eat half of the piece by sharing the delicious pastry. Tony's mother Julia always called chocolate cake 'comfort food' and the young man believed like her in the healing powers of a good slice of double-chocolate. And seeing Gibbs already more relaxed than before strenghtened this belief.

When Tony cleaned the table after their meal, Gibbs stepped up to him and dropped a thankful, tender kiss onto the smooth skin of his neck. Tony shivered slightly at the contact, than decided to let the dishes be dishes for now. He turned around to Gibbs and together they went to the living-room, where Tony dimmed the lights in preparation for his next step of his mission to make Gibbs relax.

When his lover made to move to the couch, Tony stopped him with a light touch on his wrist. Curious blue eyes questioned him silently and the young man whispered: "Dance with me." Gibbs hesitated. In his mind dancing wasn't one of his strong sides – and three marriages and the accompanying comments from his wives in regard to this matter had strenghtened his insecurity. But Tony's green eyes pleaded silently – and Gibbs couldn't say no to his partner's beautiful eyes.

Therefore five minutes later they were swaying gently to the soft music Tony had selected. Securely held in the arms of the other man they moved together like one, subtly guided by Tony, who was the more gifted dancer. But with Tony dancing was easy for him, Gibbs realized with surprise. It seemed to simply flow from his heart and soul how to move and how to react to Tony's graceful movements and the music.

It had a soothing quality Gibbs hadn't expected – he could feel how the tenseness he had accumulated over the last two weeks left his body and mind bit by bit. Shaking his head inwardly Gibbs smiled at Tony's infallible instincts in regard to him. The silver-haired man knew exactly why Tony had at first supplied him a delicious dinner and now did everything in his powers to relieve him of his stress in a subtle manner – but he didn't find it in his heart to object. Tony's love was so tangible in the air he could feel it with every breath he took – and quite frankly he was too tired and worn out to argue for control of the moment. Having his lover back after two weeks of being alone seemed to simply take away his last defences against the tiredness and stress he had felt over the last days. So why shouldn't he let Tony care for him, if his young lover was so obviously proficient in it? Why indeed. So Gibbs decided to be compliant for the evening and simply go with Tony's plans – he felt it would be for the best.

Twenty minutes later Gibbs felt better somehow, more relaxed than in a long time. Their slow movements in the dimly-lit living-room to the soft, low music created a calmness inside him which began to envelop his whole being. Before Tony and he had become lovers months ago, Gibbs hadn't known about this aspect of a relationship – of trusting another human being enough to shed all layers of defense to let the other see every weakness and insecurity – and feel strong and content for doing it. But now he relished in the loving care Tony sometimes lavished him with – and always at the right moment, when everything seemed to be too much. Tony always knew when Gibbs was at breaking point. Like now.

His tired brain had been lulled into a light doze by the low music, so Gibbs started a bit, when Tony's hand cupped his face to get his attention. Blinking his eyes to regain his bearings, Gibbs started to question his young lover, but Tony pressed a light warm kiss to his lips and smiled at him in his impish, beautiful way. Then the Italian tugged him gently with him, careful of Gibbs' tiredness, which caused the older man to sometimes stumble a bit.

Arriving in Tony's bedroom, Gibbs' felt himself stopped and softly kissed once more. He returned the sweet, slow gesture with all the attention his tired brain could muster. Gentle hands ghosted over his body, but the silver-haired agent didn't exactly realize that Tony slowly undressed him until the moment warm skin pressed against him without hindering layers of clothing. When this caused more alertness in Gibbs' blue eyes, Tony smiled in equal parts amusement and love.

He could feel how Gibbs' body reacted to his own – and vice versa – but he also knew that his lover was way too tired to act on it right now. What Gibbs needed the most this evening was somebody to care for him – guide him to relaxion and peaceful sleep. Because of that Tony repressed his own needs and desires which arose at seeing and touching the strong body of his lover and concentrated solely on caring for the older man.

Carefully guiding him to his bed, Tony gently commanded the sleepy Senior Agent to lie on his stomach. Then he straddled his lover, which gained him an appreciative moan and slightly more attention than before. Smiling softly at the man he loved and who allowed himself to show weakness in Tony's company, the young man reached over to his nightstand and took a small bottle into his hands. Opening it the subtle fragrance of vanilla mixed into the air. Tony turned the small bottle and poured a small amount of it's content into his hand before returning it to his nightstand. Rubbing his hands together to warm the oil, he then placed them on Gibbs' back and started slowly massaging it in. A hiss at a particular tense knot in Gibbs' shoulder soon turned into welcoming moans and quiet appreciating sighs, when Tony covered his lover's skin inch for inch. With careful but at the same time strong movements of his fingers, the young man expertly kneeded the tense flesh and loosened cramped muscles. The scent of vanilla got stronger and added to the soothing, relaxing quality of the intimate, calm atmosphere.

When Tony finished his massage, Gibbs was already three fourth' into deep, peaceful sleep. The older man only vaguely felt a warm, strong body settle next to him and gentle hands move him into position. He followed the slight tug without hesitation and felt arms move around him in a secure hug, while under his ear he could hear a steady heartbeat. Soft sheets were draped over him and warmth tucked around his body. The last thing Gibbs heard and felt that evening was the touch of soft lips on his forehead and a warm voice whispering: "Sleep well, love."

Then he slept, peacefully and without dreams.

Saturday morning dawned bright and early, but the two lovers slept on without stirring. Hours later, surprisingly it was Tony who woke first and blinked into the bright sunlight streaming through the curtains of his window. Gibbs slept on without moving, which made Tony realize that his partner had really needed the uninterrupted sleep he had helped him gain. Normally the older man would be up and about at this hour, but instead the blue eyes of the Senior Agent remained closed and his handsome face was relaxed and peaceful while he slept in Tony's loving embrace.

Tony smiled contentedly and tightened his hug a bit to shelter the man he loved so deeply. The last two weeks with his family – and most of all the birth of his cousin's second child, a beautiful girl he now was the proud godfather to – had helped Tony overcome the stress he had experienced before. The last cases had been nothing short of horrendous, especially his undercover-job where he had to play an escapee to find stolen Sumerian artefacts. Jefferey White had seemed to be a harmless, clumsy fellow at first – but turned out to be anything but that. The man had been a brillant mind, a cold-blooded murderer and all around severely disturbing individual.

Tony shivered at the memory of his own 'showdown' with the man. He had really believed Jefferey's act even if there had been this distinct unease in his gut after White's partner had disappeared. His distrust in his own instincts could have nearly had cost him his life, Tony had realized with shocking clarity after shooting Jefferey at the last possible time. Sitting in the car after that and waiting for Gibbs and the rest of the team to come and help him, Tony had felt distant and unsettled. Scared and confused. Out of synch with the world – and himself.

That he wasn't the only one deeply shaken by the happenings became clear when Gibbs arrived mere minutes later. The intense blue eyes of his lover had held a frightened quality because of the blood splattering the glass and Tony sitting motionless with his head bowed as if being dead. Tony had seen the blame Gibbs put on himself for sending him on that undercover mission and realized the tension the older man had been under after he had lost track of Tony's whereabouts. The young Italian had seen all of that in Gibbs' eyes, but he hadn't been able to react to it, too shaken himself by his brush with death. He had felt unable to regain his usual open-minded, optimistic self for days after that.

But the whole situation had showed how familiar they had been getting with each other's reactions, because Gibbs had done everything to help Tony overcome his aftershocks. The silver-haired agent had been supportive, gentle and full of strength, warmth and love – a rock to lean on. It had helped Tony to have his lover to rely on in this situation. Gibbs helped him to regain his senses and move on. And the meeting with his whole big family at his cousin's party took care of the rest. Now he felt at ease with himself and the world once more and would concentrate on returning the favour – now he would spoil his love with attention and care over the weekend.

Dropping a soft kiss on his still sleeping partner's forehead, Tony carefully slid out of bed and went to the kitchen. Humming to himself he prepared breakfast and loaded a tray to carry it to his bedroom. The delicious smell of freshly brewed coffee gained an almost instant reaction, like Tony had known. Sleep-clouded blue eyes opened and cleared slowly when they came to rest on Tony, who smiled lovingly at Gibbs. The young Italian rested the tray on his nightstand and slipped back into his bed to drop another kiss on his lover, who responded eagerly to the loving gesture. More awake now and well-rested, Gibbs gained control of their kiss and guided Tony to lay on his back. The brown-haired man didn't resist, but simply curled his arms around Gibbs' neck to deepen their kiss. A slow, langerous exploration of each other lips and mouths' followed, until air became a pressing matter.

When Gibbs finally broke the kiss to smile faintly at his younger lover, who favoured him with one of his brillant ones in return, the silver-haired man pressed his forehead gently against Tony's and whispered: "Thanks."

It was a sign for their understanding of each other, that Tony simply smiled and hugged him warmly, before letting go and sitting up. Propping himself up against the headboard, Tony reached for the cups of coffee which enticed their senses with their fragrance and held one of them out to Gibbs as an offering. The older man sighed almost inaudibly in delight and took the cup from his lover to get his first taste for the day – furthering his addiction.

The two men shared breakfast in bed, talking quietly about several topics. But before long they came back once more to the day before and Fornell's 'experiment'. Gibbs explained how he had been tricked into agreeing when Fornell had challenged him.

"They did the same experiment with some FBI teams and the results were quite desastrous. I think Fornell wanted make sure it doesn't only happen to his people by challenging me to agree for a test with my team – but he lost his bet", Gibbs smirked when he remembered the bet the FBI-Agent and he had placed. A bet Gibbs had won – because of putting his unwavering trust in the man now sitting next to him in the bed and raising a curious eyebrow at the devious smirk the silver-haired man displayed.

"What bet, Jethro?", Tony wanted to know. "What did you win?", he added, sure that his lover had won this bet against Fornell. Gibbs grinned in amusement and explained. Tony smiled and leaned over for a kiss in a silent thank-you that Gibbs trusted him so much to know him, that he placed bets on it. Gibbs normally did nothing of that sort…and Tony said so to the older man.

Gibbs shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee with obvious delight before answering. "I simply knew that you would find out the differences between my double and me, Tony. You are a very good investigator, I learned that while working with you. But most of all, your instincts always lead you right – and when I saw you staying after delivering your aunt's cake, I knew you had picked up on something. I hadn't thought you would go so far as threatening the poor guy with your gun, but I knew you would get a hold of the situation. Did you realize, that Kate and McGee fully trusted your instincts and judgement, even if your actions had be confusing for them at first? They didn't know exactly what was going on, but they backed you up nonetheless – because they trust you. Like I do, love."

Tony swallowed slightly, then smiled thankfully. He hadn't thought about it like that, but it warmed his heart to hear the praise Gibbs showed him. The proud, warm look in the blue eyes of his partner was worth the whole world for Tony; knowing the silver-haired man not only loved him, but trusted and respected him wholly. It made him feel more sure of himself, something he needed from time to time. Especially after White. Gibbs knew that – like Tony knew his lover's needs.

"Thank you", he said. "But my list of differences which I told Kate, McGee and your double wasn't anywhere near completion. I could have carried on – if they would know about us." Gibbs looked curious at that, prompting Tony to carry on in his explanation.

"First of all, 'you' didn't touch me in greeting. Even if we refrain from openly showing our relationship in the office, you always find a reason to touch me somehow, love. A brush of your hand in passing or a short caress on my arm or shoulder, when you know nobody else is watching. Even you swatting me on the head after a joke is some way of us being near. Your double didn't make a move to come near me or swat me – contrary to your reaction after just one minute when Fornell and you came to rescue Agent Matthews", Tony said.

Gibbs blinked, then smiled ruefully and nodded. Tony was right. It was his way to be in physical contact with his young lover without arousing suspicion – but he simply couldn't _not_ touch the other agent throughout the day. He would go crazy if he wasn't allowed to get a a feel of Tony's warm, smooth skin or soft hair once in a while during the day.

"Furthermore he didn't smile at me. Not one bit. Ok, that could have been the stress – but after two weeks of separation I thought you would be happy to see me again and not dismiss me straight away", Tony continued with a mock-scowl. Gibbs reached out in reply to this and tugged his lover into his side, settling the younger man against him to refamiliarize himself with touching Tony. The whole talk about that hidden 'addiction' of him had swamped him with sudden need to practice it once again.

Tony smiled delightedly when gentle fingers smoothed the hair back from his forehead and warm lips ghosted over his skin, causing slight shivers to wrack his lithe frame. He loved his partner's gentleness. Gibbs often seemed hard, thriven and sometimes even a bit heartless when working on a case, but Tony knew the softer, deeply emotional sides of his silver-haired lover. If it was only them, Gibbs opened up and allowed his emotions to show – like the loving care he right now surrounded him with.

His green eyes fluttered shut with a blissful sigh, when Tony felt Gibbs dropping butterfly kisses all over his face, slowly trailing downwards. Returning the kiss when warm lips hungrily decended on his, the younger man moved even closer to his lover and ended up in his lap, curling his arms securely around Gibbs' neck to hold him in place. Their kiss gained more and more passion, but underneath the love they shared was tangible like woven threads connecting the two men with an unbreakable bond.

Gasping for air they finally broke away and Tony's eyes glowed with love – and satisfaction Gibbs realized, when the young Italian leaned back just far enough to look into the intense, darkened eyes of his silver-haired partner. The silent quirk of an eyebrow lured another brillant smile onto Tony's face and while taking Gibbs' hand in his and holding it right over his rapidly thudding heart, he whispered raggedly: "That would have been my main argument for the obvious differences – my reaction to you being near me. To your hands on my skin, your lips on mine – your very presence which lightens my soul and makes me breathless with desire and love. Nobody else has ever been this important to me, gained an instant reaction to a mere look, a faint smile or a slide of hands. My heart is familiar with your presence, love, because you are the other half which finally made it complete. I will always know if you are really you, just by the reaction of my heart. I love you, Jethro."

His silver-haired lover swallowed hard at Tony's whispered confession, but Gibbs' eyes showed how deeply touched and overjoyed he was by it. The intense blue was filled with deep, honest emotions. Gibbs didn't need to return the declaration of love Tony had made – his eyes spoke clearly for him. For some uncounted minutes they simply gazed at each other, Gibbs' hand still laying on Tony's chest right over his heart.

Then the older man suddenly smiled in playful way – a mood he only rarely expressed – and he whispered darkly: "You sure that you are familiar with me, Tony?" The younger man blinked a bit startled, but didn't get the time to answer to that challenge, because Gibbs continued in a seemingly disappointed voice: "Well, if you are sure you know me so well, love, then you won't need a chance to refamiliarize with me. You won't have to investigate every inch of me to…", the last part of what he intended to say was muffled by Tony's lips decending on his for a wild, passionate kiss, which produced an appreciative moan.

Manoevering until he had his silver-haired lover lying on his back and straddling his hips, Tony leaned down to whisper seductively: "I may know you by heart, love, but practice for my investigation skills is always a good thing. Won't want them to go blunt." And he proceeded to show Gibbs, that he was determined that his skills in the area of investigation remained sharp as ever by showing intense attention to inch after inch of his lover's skin. Just like his partner had intended to with his challenge. After all, that was just another part of their familiarity with each other.

END – FIN – ENDE – FINI

Now, what do you think? Good? Bad? I need reviews! (begs with puppy-dog eyes)

GeminiStarlight


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